I have two bikes with 3 different cassettes that I use for various situations. I can’t be changing the chains back and forth to match chain to cassette.
What’s the best way to minimize wear? My LBS owner said that if you put a new chain on every 2000 miles, the cassette should hardly wear. Do you follow this philosophy? If not, any suggestions?
thank you!
tom
I am not sure if I am answering your question but here’s my suggestion: I change my cassette and chain at the same time, old out, new on. Always before my A race. I was really surprised how good it felt at my last IM. Like I was riding with no chain. Felt like my power transfer was very succinct. I think this is a spot that might be overlooked. We are so worried about race wheels and frame angles. I would switch out your chain and cassette for new at the same time.
Best way to minimise wear is to keep it all clean and correctly lubed (chain not cass). Frequent chain replacement also helps.
you could look at using a campag chain - cost more but last a lot longer. I havent chucked a cassette in years (my stuff is always very clean)
I’ve put A LOT of miles on a few of my older 9spd cassettes w/o wear…not sure I’m understanding your problem.
In the case of swapping cassettes, are you talking about the chain length being a problem? Say…if you use a 11/21, 12/25 and a 12/27?
My 2cents is to have two chains per bike. One that is actually on the bike and the other that ie being cleaning…
Using a SRAM/Wipperman makes it easy and I then have a large dog brush that I use to clean the cassette…using while it’s off the wheel.
tomp,
Learn how to measure chain wear and replace your chain when indicated. You need not replace your cassette when you replace your chain or keep a dedicated chain for each casette if you replace the chain before the wear on the chain begins to degrade your casette. This is the whole idea behind measuring chain wear and replacing the chain when indicated.
There is a “poor” man’s way to measure the wear with a 12 inch ruler. One can also purchase an inexpensive and accurate chain wear gauge or tool. Park Tools makes one of each.
The problem with replacing your chain every 2,000 miles is that 2,000 miles for one cyclist is entirely different wear wise for another cyclist.
Some of the variables that govern chain wear are, the weight of the cyclist, how much power the cyclist can generate, how clean or dirty the roads are the cyclist rides on, how hilly or flat the terrain is where the cyclist rides, how frequently or infrequently the cyclist cleans and lubes his chain, does the cyclist often get caught in the rain, does he ride year round, etc. As you can begin to see, putting a general mile limit on chain wear for all cyclists means many cyclists will be throwing away good chains long before they need to be replaced while other cyclists will be placing significant wear on their cassettes and chainrings before they replace their chains.
The bottom line…measure your own chain wear!
There is one other way to maximize chain and drive train life that is foolproof. Don’t ride your bike! Just look at it and fantasize riding it. This way you won’t crash or have flats either.
You can get all the info you need to know to perform this chore competently at the Park Tools website or Sheldon Brown’s website.
I don’t have any problems yet - but just wanted to avoid any issues, before I wind up damaging the cassettes with a worn chain.
You mentioned you’ve put many miles on cassettes - but how often did you replace the chain during that period?
thanks,
tom
Excellent - thank you, Ben. That makes sense. I did some more perusing the web and found useful info on how to change out a chain and measure wear.
thanks,
tom
Since I swap chains when I clean…it’s tough to say. Probably around every 2,000ish miles or 2 weeks prior to a big race.
Okay - thank you.
I didn’t see anyone had mentioned this but I try to keep my chainline as straight as possible. Most of the guys I ride with only drop to the small ring on hills but use the big ring / big cog combo frequently. This is rubbing on the cassette and can cause shifting issues down the road. The small chainring is my friend and on rollers I try to just slide between big and small chainring as opposed to shifting through most of the cogs in back. I change my chains way too infrequently; maybe every 3-4000 miles. Cassettes roughly every other chain, if I remember. I error on the high side if I’m not sure.
If you replace your cassette it is also likely that your chainring will need to be replaced also.
I ride three bikes. One for racing, one for training and one for commuting. The race bike gets a new chain, then the chains make there way down to the commuter. After the commuter, they are thrown out. I have to take links out for my commuter, so everything works out.
Your LBS is giving you good advice. I change chains before the Park wear indicator says I should so that I can move wheels around among my and my kids’ bikes without having to worry. Yes my kids wear out chains a little faster than I do because they have more power but 2,000 miles (I use 3,500 km, 3,000 for my kids, with Campy chains, which are reputed to be more durable than Shimano) should work for almost anyone.
great - thanks.
also, do you find the park wear indicator useful? i.e. easier than a ruler??
thanks!
It’s easy to use and does show wear relative to normal (i.e. on a graded scale). I have also found it misleading on one or two occasions, since it’s shown almost new chains to be worn so I’ve gone back to keeping track of distance ridden as well.